Memor Preteritus
by Silver Spider
Summary: BW BM. A little chat between Cheetor and Blackarachnia that takes place early in the episode “Spark War, Pt. 1”


_**Author's Note:**_ I haven't written for Transformers for almost a decade! This little ficlet came out of a conversation I had with a friend of mine on LiveJournal. I go by silverspidertm2 there, in case anyone is curious. This takes place early in the episode "Spark War, Pt. 1". Enjoy!

**Memor Preteritus**

**By: Silver Spider**

Blackarachnia hadn't been the only one to overhear her former lover's off handed comment about not being able to afford the luxury of love while the war was still going on. Cheetor growled low in his throat as he watched the condor depart and Nightscream take off after him a few clicks later. Did he seriously not think about how his words affected people or did he just not care?

Jerk.

Bastard.

Cheetor could think of a few more names to call the former bird-dog, but realized that it was more than a little childish.

Optimus was nowhere in sight, probably of somewhere trying to get back in touch with the Oracle. Botanica was tending to the plants, and Rattrap and Blackarachnia had been putting together some pipes for the orchard, but now they were working on opposite corners of the base. Having already finished his tasks, he wandered over to where the arachnid was welding together a few final pieces.

"Silverbolt and Nightscream took off to do some recon," half truth, anyway. "You okay?"

The only indication that she had heard him was a barely audible, "Humm."

Cheetor tried again.

"I'm sorry he's being such an ass."

That did elicit a reaction. The black widow stopped what she was doing, and he saw her shoulders shrug slightly as she sighed. Her attitude looked entirely wrong to Cheetor. He'd known the spider for a long time, longer than her brooding beau if one counted her days as a Predacon, but Cheetor had never seen her look so tired, so defeated.

"He's just working through things," Blackarachnia finally replied. "He'll be back to his normal ridiculously sappy self soon."

She said this as if it was absolute fact. As if Silverbolt's recent personality didn't say the exact opposite.

"Anyway," she waved him off, "you don't have to apologize for him."

"I know that," for some reason Cheetor felt awkward. "I know he's been through the inferno and everything, but I just... just wanted to let you know I don't agree with the way he's been acting. I think you deserve better than that."

For a moment Blackarachnia stood absolutely still, one quizzical brow raised over her green gaze. Cheetor wasn't sure why, but it made him especially nervous. The instinct to run whispered in the back of his mind, but he stood his ground. Blackarachnia was his friend, no matter how intimidating her scrutinizing gaze was at the moment.

Thankfully the moment passed quickly. She gave him a wry smile.

"Thanks."

He nodded courtly and was about to go as she went back to work on welding the pipes, but something stopped him. Cheetor turned.

"Blackarachnia," he had to ask, "if he... hadn't come back..."

"No."

The response was short and final. Cheetor only had a second to be stunned before he began to feel extremely foolish. He turned to go. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!

"Kid."

The calling caught him off guard. She hadn't called him that since the Beast Wars. Nightscream was the newly designated rookie of the group, and Cheetor couldn't say he terribly missed the position. He stopped, but his gaze was on the ground.

"Look, I don't want you to think I don't appreciate you looking out for me," she said, "or that I'm thrilled with bone brain's personality crisis. But no matter what happened, I would never..." she paused, looking for the right words. "I won't be with anyone else. I can't."

He nodded again in understanding and acceptance, but a part of him wouldn't let it go.

"What would you have done for the rest of your life, then?"

"Grieved."

"Sounds morbid."

"Yeah, well, masochism seems to be a team trait. We're all here, aren't we?"

Cheetor had to grin at that, then looked up at her sheepishly.

"Still friends, right?"

The black widow gave him an are-you-kidding look. "If I held every comment like that against you, you wouldn't be alive to have this conversation now. Yeah, still friends, kid."


End file.
